What you need to get started

It is strongly recommended that you use Visual Studio 2005 Standard or Visual Studio 2008 Professional instead of the older Embedded Visual C++ 4.0, especially if you would like to take advantage of the DirectDraw features of GapiDraw 4.0. If you use Embedded Visual C++ 4.0 you will not be able to take advantage of the new features of GapiDraw 4.0 such as windowed mode and hardware accelerated graphics through DirectDraw.

If you have not already done so, it is recommended that you apply for the Microsoft Empower for ISVs - a special deal where you will get the following tools for just $375:

Five licenses of Visual Studio 2008 Professional

One MSDN Premium Subscription, which basically includes all current Microsoft software

Creating a game in 12 steps

We will create the game Breakout in 12 easy to follow steps. We will describe each step, what it does, and also paste the source code and necessary steps to finish each step. We will not go through general game design principles in the tutorial (like subpixel accuracy and performance optimizations), but will focus exclusively on how to use GapiDraw to quickly and easily create a good looking game!